1. FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to automated, post-assembly testing of personal computers and the like.
2. DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART
After a personal computer has been assembled, the most probable time for any computer chip of the computer to fail prematurely is during its initial few hours of operation. For this reason, it has become a common practice for personal computer manufacturers to subject the computer at the assembly site to an initial period of operation known as a "burn-in" cycle. The personal computer is connected to a source of operating power and also to a source of computer operating or test codes. The computer is then allowed to run for a specified time, usually several hours, for initial testing.
So far as is known, this type of testing has not been particularly suitable for automated testing of computers on a mass production basis. The computers after assembly were connected at test stations and operated, usually with a few computers per test station. This, however, required a test technician to monitor the progress of each computer at the test station and thus fairly expensive in labor costs. Additionally, if a computer exhibited a problem during "burn-in." the typical practice was to return it for further check out or testing. However, this was typically done with no indication of the likely source of the problem or of the portion of the test cycle in progress when the problem occurred. With a relatively small number of computers assigned to each test station, keeping track of the computers being tested and their operating status was not burdensome or involved. However, as noted this has made the "burn-in" testing process expensive. Keeping track of the mass produced personal computers and their progress as individual modules through "burn-in" or automated post-assembly testing has thus been difficult and involved.